Major stock-market indexes climbed Tuesday as investors waited for the finish of a closely fought U.S. presidential election. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 146 points at 13,259 just before 1 p.m. EST.

Here's your hour-by-hour election night guide: when the polls close in the key states, and how the results will unfold. Word to the wise: Beware of early exit polls. They got it wrong in both 2000 and 2004, so be patient and wait for the actual votes to be counted.

Usually, reporter Bruce Watson covers events like today's election from a journalistic distance. This time, he'll be a bit more hands-on, as a first-time poll worker. To do so, he'll be balancing two agendas: Making sure that everybody who wants to vote is able to, and making sure that every vote is legitimate.

We've heard from poll after poll in recent months predicting who would win the presidential race: Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. But poll respondents don't have anything to lose when they give their opinions. Gamblers betting on the outcome do, and they give overwhelming odds to one candidate.

From a Starbucks coffee to a scoop of Ben & Jerry's, Election Day freebies have long been popular: Here are a few of the retailers offering savings to customers who can prove they've cast their ballots.

With less than a week to go before Election Day, there are usually a few clear indicators that one candidate has momentum, some idea of how the remaining undecided voters are going to break. It was obvious in 2008. Between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012, that's just not the case.

Unemployment rates fell or held steady last month in nine key swing states at the center of this year's presidential election. Rates dropped in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and North Carolina. They were unchanged in New Hampshire and Virginia.

While polls may close late tonight across the country, we probably won't know the names of all the winners for days, weeks or potentially months as challenges and demands for recounts delay final tallies.

With elections near and joblessness still so high, Congress and even the Fed are chasing short-term solutions that won't really help matters. More finely targets policies would be effective, but don't expect any until, with luck, after Nov. 2.